Chris Elsberry

Updated 12:51 am, Tuesday, August 12, 2014

For the UConn wide receiver corps, last season was one of trial by fire. With starter Shakim Phillips missing four games because of an injury, head coach Paul Pasqualoni and later, interim head coach T.J. Weist threw caution -- and three redshirts -- to the wind as they looked to new, young faces to try and find a significant threat to work alongside Geremy Davis.

Dhameer Bradley, Noel Thomas and Brian Lemelle were all true freshmen who were given chances to prove themselves. Lemelle played in 11 games with one start, while Bradley also played in 11 games, starting the final three. And Thomas saw action in five of the Huskies' last seven games.

In addition, redshirt freshman John Green played in 10 games with two starts and juniors Deshon Foxx (who played solely on special teams in 2012) played in every game with 10 starts and Kamal Abrams (who missed the 2012 season because of an injury), played in seven of the last eight games.

And although none of them had a single career catch coming into the 2013 campaign, each one made the most of their opportunities and will look to improve as the Huskies head into 2014 brimming with optimism under new head coach Bob Diaco.

"I think that we're going to be a great wide receiver group," Foxx said after Monday's practice at the Burton Family Football Complex. "I think that everyone comes to work every day and they work as hard as they possibly can. They work on technique, they work on hand-eye coordination and they work on getting out of their (route) breaks. We all try to coach each other and visa versa. I feel like the experience that we had last year, we all know each other and we know what everyone can do. We all know that each person can make the catch that's thrown to them."

Foxx exploded over the last half of the season, finishing with back-to-back 100-plus yard receiving games against Rutgers and Memphis and ended with 43 catches for 534 yards and two touchdowns. Lemelle, who had just six catches in the first 10 games, caught 10 passes for 85 yards in the last two and Bradley, who had just five catches for 30 yards in the first eight games, added seven receptions for 83 yards in the last four.

And so far, so good, in fall camp.

"Everyone has come out and has been making good plays on the deep and the short passes," Bradley said. "We all just want to win."

"We've got competition and, of course, competition is going to bring out the best in you," Foxx said. "I love the competition, I love how everyone is competing for a spot."

Toss Green (5 receptions, 40 yards in 2013), Abrams (4-34) and Thomas (3-32) into the mix, along with redshirt freshman Thomas Lucas, who caught four passes for 55 yards in the spring game, and not only is there plenty of depth, but valuable experience to send out alongside Davis -- who became the first UConn wideout in the Division I era to catch more than 70 passes in a season, grabbing 71 for 1,085 yards and three touchdowns, including 15 (a single-game record) for 207 yards in a season-ending 45-10 romp over Memphis.

Diaco, for one, is eager to see what more is in store this season with Davis.

"He's got an incredible catch radius. He's very physical," the coach said. "He can get open based on short-space quickness and he can get open with body control and strength. It's a rare combination. Those guys normally do well, not only in college but at the next level when they get a chance.

"He's got some very unique traits. He reminds me of (Notre Dame's) Michael Floyd (now playing for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals) or (Larry) Fitzgerald at Pitt (also playing for Arizona) that kind of guy. He's hard to cover. He wins a lot of individual match-ups. He's more physical than the defensive backs that are going to try and defend him and he's faster and quicker than the linebackers that will try and cover him."

The one lingering question regarding the receivers is: who's going to be throwing to them? As Chandler Whitmer, Casey Cochran and Tom Boyle are all fighting for the starting job over the next couple of weeks. In any event, whoever wins the job will have a lot of potential targets to aim for.

"I have no worries about that," Foxx said. "I know the coaches are going to put whoever they believe is the best out there and we're all just working."

Added Bradley: "They're all doing great. They're all making progress and making plays every day, so we'll see what happens."